Dreaming Awake
by Spritzah Conlon
Summary: Candice Proctor's family has left her, and she is now faced with finding somewhere she belongs. But will her haunting memories separate her from the one place she can call home?
1. Default Chapter

Chapter 1---  
  
Beads of cool autumn rain fell harder and harder onto the crimson and gold leaves.Candice Proctor sat gazing out the window of her grandparent's Manhattan apartment,watching the tiny droplets run down the pane.  
  
It was a few minutes before her silvery-hazel eyes clouded, and the storm of tears came.  
  
Who could blame her? Both of her parents were dead. Her older brother had gone off to Venice-or so he'd told her just after they arrived at the apartment. He never really explained why, so Candice just assumed it was so he wouldn't have to worry about her getting into trouble, which seemed to happen more and more often.  
  
It seemed to her that the only reason her mother's parents-the only family she had left- agreed to take care of her was because they felt guilty for her mother's death, felt that if only they weren't so caught up in their own lives, they might have been able to save hers.  
  
Candice snapped back into reality,wiping her eyes on her sleeve. She concentrated hard on the plan for what would happen while her grandparents were asleep yet another time-she'd sneak out the window and down the fire escape with her small leather bag, containing just a change of clothes, her hairbrush, a picture of her parents, and about five dollars, and set off to her best friend Anna's, where she'd planned to saty until they got tired of her or something better came along.  
  
Candice lay down on her bed with her bag beside the open window, drifting through the few hours of sleep she would have that night.  
  
  
  
(AN:This is my very first chappy of my very first fanfic! Pleeease review!! There are probably tons of thigs I can improve- just tell mee!!!) 


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter 2---  
  
The rain had stopped.Candice opened her eyes sleepily, not really wanting to move. It was the middle of the night, after all, and she was used to sleeping until eight or nine, when the sun would shine in through her window. But the window she would be climbing through wasn't her window. Not really, anyway.  
  
Her window was in her room, in her house, up the stairs and down the hallway from the parlor, where her mother was found...dead.  
  
Candice tore herself away from the memory of that day, knowing that if she didn't, her pain would empower her, preventing her from getting up today, or any other day for that matter.  
  
She sat up, feeling for her bag through the darkness. Her hand found the strap, and she made sure she had everything once more before swinging the bag over her shoulder.  
  
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Candice hated heights. If there was one thing that could've stopped her from running away, it was the fear of falling from the fire escape.  
  
She strived to push that thought to the back of her mind as she cautiously made her way down the slippery metal steps.  
  
It took her almost thirty minutes to get to Anna's, but it seemed like hours. She was drenched up to her shins and was cold and tired.  
  
Feeling rather relieved not to have to walk much farther, Candice knocked on the big oak door. She could hear footsteps coming from inside the house, and held her breath in anticipation as the door opened quietly.  
  
(yes, I know, it's another short one...but I only have so much time on my hands, ya know? Not to fear, chappy 3 is comin up!!) 


	3. Chapter 3

(AN: YaaY! chappy 3!!! And I PROMISE it's longer than the first two!)  
  
Chapter 3---  
  
  
  
"Oh my God, Candie! You're soaked! And by that I mean drenched..."   
  
Candice was a little confused as to what Anna meant by that. What else could "soaked" mean? She decided to brush that off and stepped inside.  
  
Anna's house was just as she remembered it to be- big and cozy, with dimmed lights in almost every room and the faint scent of lavender in the air. Candice reminisced for a minute, remembering how she would come here all the time during the summers when she was supposed to be at her grandparents' instead (not like they'd noticed), and Anna would always say that Candice practically lived here. Well, I do now, she thought.  
  
Candice followed Anna upstairs into her room, where, on the end of her twin-sized bed, lay a powder blue nightgown and two towels. Candice thanked her friend while drying her hair with one of the towels on her way into the bathroom across the room. She turned up the gas light and looked into the mirror next to the water pump, realizing for the first time how tired she really was. Circles were starting to form under her eyes, and she noticed how much darker they looked with her mahogany shoulder-length hair framing her face. She reached into her bag for her brush, detangling her damp locks before putting them up in a messy bun.  
  
"Candie, come heah, I wanna show ya somethin!"   
  
Since when am I Candie? she asked herself, while sitting down on the edge of the bed she would be sleeping in across from Anna. And since when does Anna have a New York accent?   
  
Anna pulled out an issue of The Sun, dated June 13, 1899. On the front page, a bunch of boys peered out from all directions at Candice, who looked back at their flustered faces with confusion spread on her own.  
  
"Um, Anna?" she asked."What am I supposed to be looking at?"  
  
"Dem, ya bum!" she replied, with her famous 'duh' look on her face. Yea, great answer Anna.  
  
"What about them?"  
  
"Dey're da newsies!!" Anna exclaimed,falling backwards with her fists in the air.  
  
"Um,ok Anna...but why are you showing me a three month old picture of newsboys?"  
  
Anna sat back up, her long dark hair falling around her face and in front of her emerald-flecked chocolate eyes. "You'll see later." she replied with a mischievous look in her eye, completely losing her phony accent. With that, Anna left the room, calling a friendly "good night" over her shoulder.  
  
Still a little confused but moreso curious, Candice turned down the blankets, falling asleep almost as soon as the soft pillows touched her face. 


	4. Chapter 4

Chapter 4---  
  
She walked slowly down the hallway,looking for her, at the same time knowing just where she was.Turning the corner, she descended down the stairs, her bare feet lightly pressing on the cold, smooth wood with every step. Before she even reached the bottom of the staircase she knew something was wrong. Making her way towards the parlor, she suddenly turned the other way, into the kitchen, where she hoped she would find her. She passed through the kitchen and into the dining room, still looking for her, still not finding her. Hearing a soft noise in the other room, she turned towards the parlor, wondering why she hadn't gotten a greeting or a reassuring hug when she'd first come down. What she saw next explained it all.....  
  
***********************************************************************  
  
Candice's eyes popped open, her body tense and chilled, her breath unsteady. This was not the first time the dream had woken her during the night. It seemed as if that dream became more and more realistic every time she'd had it since leaving her house after the incidents.  
  
Her attention suddenly focused on the doorway, where Anna stood, looking in at her worriedly.  
  
"What is it, Anna?" Candice asked quietly, not sure if she was just seeing things.  
  
"You were yelling.I just wanted to make sure you were all right."  
  
"Oh, well, I was just having a nightmare, that's all," Candice replied, being sure not to make eye contact.  
  
Anna walked over to Candice, sitting on the edge of the bed. "So," she began, "I guess you're still wondering what the big deal about the newsboys is, huh?"  
  
"Well, yeah, kinda," replied Candice, hoping Anna would finally let her in on what was going on.  
  
"Ok Candie, I'll show ya tomorrow."  
  
Anna then left, leaving Candice to ponder over what she was going to show her the next day.  
  
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Candice was already dressed and brushing her hair by the time Anna came into her room to wake her up. Not like that surprised her.They would always get up around the same times, and go to wake the other one up only to find out they were already up too.  
  
"Ok, I was thinkin we would go eat breakfast and then I'd let ya in on the secret."  
  
After a quick breakfast of buttered toast and eggs, Candice excitedly followed Anna out the door.  
  
Anna led Candice to Central Park, buzzing with the noises of Wednesday morning workers. Here and there, a headline could be heard through the crowds, and every so often she saw a newsboy thanking a customer.  
  
Candice was just about to ask where she was being taken, when Anna stopped at a bench, apparently waiting for someone. Candice opened her mouth to speak, then just as quickly shut it when she saw a tall, curly-haired newsboy approaching, with a shorter, but no less handsome boy at his side.  
  
Anna stood up, motioning for Candice to do the same, and walked towards the pair.  
  
"Hey Race!" Anna greeted warmly, and Candice swore she saw a twinkle in her eye when she looked into the cute Italian face. "Hey Mush.Why ain't Blink with yas?" she asked with that same fake accent.  
  
"Uh, well, I don't really know. But I think he said somethin 'bout goin ta Tibby's."  
  
"Yah," added the one Candice guessed was Race. "We was just about ta go dere anyways. Ya wanna come wid us?" he asked innocently, his big brown eyes locked on Anna's.  
  
"Yeah," she replied almost instantly, staring at Race until a slight jab into her side sucked her back into the real world. "Oh, and uh, Mush, Race, this is mah friend Candice- or Candie, as I like ta call her."  
  
"Yea, since yesterday," Candice muttered just loud enough so Anna could hear, while stepping forward as the two boys spit into their palms, extending their hands so Candice could shake.  
  
She was a little surprised and somewhat grossed out by the gestures, but not wanting to look like an idiot, or worse,a snob, she casually spit into her own hand and shook theirs in turn. After the introductions, the four of them made their way to Tibby's, where Candice would be bewildered yet again.  
  
(AN: YAY! this chappy isn't really short! i did it! YAY! *calms down* ok... anyway- review ppl! i know ya probly dont wanna, or theres not enough material to go by, but if you have ANYTHING to say about this fic, good or bad, pleeez tell me!!) 


End file.
